Blueberry Shortcake

One of our favorite family treats is Strawberry Shortcake.  As a child I remember eating this for super as well as a dessert.  The dessert was my favorite!  A warm shortcake biscuit topped with ice cream, strawberries, and whipped cream!  YUM!  However, over time, as God led me through to freedom from food addictions, the dessert was put on a shelf, not to be revisited.  Eating it as a main course, though, continued as both my husband and I grew up eating it and loved it.  Over the years, as my food sensitivities have gotten stronger, I discovered that Strawberry Shortcake was really beginning to bother my stomach.  First it turned into substituting blueberries for strawberries and almond milk for regular milk, but it didn't take long before I realized that the biscuit itself was causing me issues.  I was excited to find that Bisquick made a gluten free mix and I used that for quite awhile.  Recently, though, I found that even this was causing me to feel sick, swell, and suffer from other side affects.  So, to the drawing board I went to make my own recipe.  I tried for the first time last week using a biscuit recipe online and substituting out the white flour for quinoa and spelt.  It was a complete failure and tasted awful.  I threw the whole thing out and, frustrated, ate the Bisquick biscuits I had made for the rest of the family......and got sick.  Anyway, fast forward to today.  I thought I would try again, accept this time, I would use my own recipe out of my own head.  I was a little skeptical, but was pleasantly surprised to find that this one was edible and even tasted good enough that I was tempted to go back for seconds!  I hope you find it just has yummy as I did!


Blueberry Shortcake

2 cups brown rice flour
1 cup spelt flour
1 cup almond flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. melted butter
1 tsp. REAL vanilla
juice from 1/2 of a lemon
3 tbsp. raw honey
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cup original lite almond milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Mix together dry ingredients.  In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients and pour into the dry ingredient mixture.  Mix together until well incorporated.  Drop 9 spoonful's onto a baking stone or baking sheet.  Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes.

Serve with blueberries, almond milk, and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

A few notes:
I thought this turned out really well, however; I may sometime try using 3 cups of brown rice flour and not use spelt flour at all as well as bumping up the vanilla to 2 tsp.  If I do this, I will definitely let you know how it turns out!  Also, if cooked on a regular baking sheet instead of a stone, you may need to grease the pan with butter or a bit of oil to keep the biscuits from sticking.  I used stoneware and it worked really well.  Bon Appetit!

 

Here is the final product!

Meatloaf

My journey with food is one huge journey of substitution.  There is a HUGE list of things I cannot eat.  It seems longer than the list of ok food, although it really has more to do with the fact that it is the family style, country, comfort foods that I can't have.  Since these foods made up a large part of my life, it feels like I can't eat hardly anything anymore.  And that is where the substitution comes in, because in reality, there are a lot of foods I can eat.  I'm just not used to them or used to eating them.  So, on a daily basis, I am looking for ways to substitute what I once enjoyed with foods that settle and do not cause issues for me and still taste good.  I often do this with our evening meal, when I have the luxury of taking the time to cook.  I prefer not to make two meals, one for the rest of the family and one for me, though more often than not, that is what happens.  Once in a while, I will stumble across something that I can more easily substitute out that the whole family enjoys.  This meatloaf recipe is one of those in which I had an easier time swapping out ingredients AND it was approved by the family :)  In the original recipe it calls for ketchup and onion soup mix.  I have made it like that for years.  However, I am finding that the ingredients in ketchup do not always settle with me.  And, upon reading the ingredients in the onion soup mix, I quickly realized it is not beneficial for me either.  So, instead of ketchup, I have substituted out plain tomatoe juice and in place of the onion soup mix, I have simply put my own seasonings.

Meatloaf

2 pounds ground beef
2/3 cup oatmeal
1/2 tbsp. salt
1 tbsp. dried onion flakes
1/2 tbsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tbsp. Italian seasoning
2 eggs
2- 5.5 oz cans of tomato juice

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl, reserving 1 of the cans of tomato juice.  Mix together until all ingredients are well incorporated.  Shape into a rectangular loaf shape and place in a crockpot.  Pour the remaining can of tomato juice over the entire loaf.   Cook on medium heat for approximately 4-6 hours depending on how hot your crockpot cooks.  Enjoy!


A few notes:
I mix my ingredients together with my hands.  I find it more affective than using a spoon.  Also, another yummy add in would be a cup of shredded carrots.  Great way to get one more veggie incorporated :)  And last but not least, not everyone can eat beef.  I have not tried this yet, but I would venture a guess that using ground turkey would work just as well.  It tends to be a little drier as it doesn't contain the same amount of fat content as the beef, but you may be able to compensate for that by adding in an additional egg.  If you try this, let me know how it goes!  Bon Appetit!

Almost-As-Good-As-Ice Cream

If you are anything like me, it is best to stay away from sweet things all together.  However, once in a while, okay more than that, I crave sweet, creamy, cold things, like ice cream which I have to stay away from because of the sugar content and the heavy cream.  So, as a way of satisfying my craving, I have come up with a substitute for myself using a frozen banana.  When frozen, a banana takes on a creamy sort of texture as it melts in your mouth.  It is filled with it's own natural sweet goodness, as well as; packed full of potassium, dietary fiber, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, and manganese which can help with osteoporosis, anemia, and PMS.  You never knew there were so many benefits packed into one little banana!  :)   I add to the banana a bit of raw honey which has been known to help with allergy relief as well as having antibacterial properties.  The last simple ingredient is cinnamon which has many of it's own health benefits. This easy treat definitely packs a punch and has helped me through many creamy, sweet cravings.  I hope you enjoy it!




Almost-As-Good-As-Ice Cream

1 banana peeled, sliced, and frozen solid
Sprinkle of cinnamon
1 Tsp. Raw Honey

Remove the banana from the freezer.  Arrange the slices on a dessert plate.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and drizzle with honey.  Eat while still frozen.


I usually freeze my bananas whole, peeling and all.  I use a sharp knife to peel off the frozen peeling and then slice it into rounds.  However, as indicated in the recipe, you can do these steps first and then freeze the rounds.  Bon Appetit!

Turkey Wrap

Let's be perfectly honest, some days, ok a lot of days, we do not have time to whip up fresh bread and some fancy whole foods meal.  Sometimes, we really need something quick that we can easily grab.  The following is a very simple recipe I go to a lot for days that do not allow time in the kitchen.  I will forewarn you, though, sometimes when changing out foods you have to learn to enjoy new tastes and textures.  That principle might be the case for some if you choose to try these particular wraps.  I have found, in my personal journey, that if I expose myself to a new food long enough, I begin to acquire a taste for that food, plus the benefit of my body not hurting afterwards for out ways any taste I don't quite like :)

Turkey Wrap
1 Food for Life Brown Rice Tortilla
1 tbsp.  Annie's Naturals Roasted Red Pepper Dressing
1-2 Romaine Lettuce leaves
1 slice Havartti Cheese sliced in half
2 oz Sara Lee Oven Roasted Turkey Breast

Spread the red pepper dressing on the tortilla.  Layer on the lettuce, two halves of cheese placed length wise so you have cheese in every bite, and turkey.  Roll the wrap up and enjoy :)  For a side, enjoy a handful of Simply Nature Vegetable Chips.

All of these products I purchased at either Meijer or Aldi's.  I was delighted to find the veggie chips at Aldi's.  I had no idea they carried gluten free products.  The rice wraps are good, in my opinion, but the texture is chewy.  Feel free to try out different wraps.  Often the gluten free variety are found in the frozen food section or in the gluten free aisle.  I personally picked this brand because it doesn't contain corn starch which often affects my adversely.  Bon Apetit!